Aerosol valve and sprayhead

ABSTRACT

An aerosol spray valve of the type which has a sprayhead and depending stem and utilizes a reciprocable valve plunger having a valve seat. The plunger moves within a valve housing that is mounted on a cover member. The depending stem enters a socket formed in the plunger. The stem is imperforate. The socket of the plunger has channel means formed in its interior wall along the vertical length thereof so that there are one or more passageways formed between the outer wall surface of the stem and the inner wall surface of the socket to transport the pressurized product. The channel means has an upper and a lower portion. The upper portion of the channel means is constructed to have a sufficiently large cross-sectional area relative to its length such that any pressurized product liquid remaining in the channel means after spraying, when the valve is seated, by gravity runs down the channel means. The lower portion of the channel means is constricted or reduced in cross-sectional area to provide the desired metering of the pressurized product. The cross-sectional area of the metering portion of the channel is constructed to be sufficiently large relative to its length such that any pressurized product liquid remaining in the metering portion of the channel means after spraying runs down the channel means and drains into the bottom of the socket of the valve plunger. This construction provides a means for draining and maintaining the entire channel means clear of pressurized product.

United States Patent [1 1 Green Oct. 28, 1975' AEROSOL VALVE AND SPRAYHEAD [76] Inventor: Edward H. Green, 57 Interstate Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 304,695, Oct. 8, 1972, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 122,935, March 10, 1971, abandoned.

Primary Examiner-Lloyd L. King Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Perry Carvellas, Esq.

[57] ABSTRACT An aerosol spray valve of the type which has a sprayhead and depending stem and utilizes a reciprocable valve plunger having a valve seat. The plunger moves within a valve housing that is mounted on a cover member. The depending stem enters a socket formed in the plunger. The stem is imperforate. The socket of the plunger has channel means formed in its interior wall along the vertical length thereof so that there are one or more passageways formed between the outer wall surface of the stem and the inner wall surface of the socket to transport the pressurized product.

The channel means has an upper and a lower portion. The upper portion of the channel means is constructed to have a sufficiently large cross-sectional area relative to its length such that any pressurized product liquid remaining in the channel means after spraying, when the valve is seated, by gravity runs down the channel means. The lower portion of the channel means is constricted or reduced in cross-sectional area to provide the desired metering of the pressurized product. The cross-sectional area of the metering portion of the channel is constructed to be sufficiently large relative to its length such that any pressurized product liquid remaining in the metering portion of the channel means after spraying runs down the channel means and drains into the bottom of the socket of the valve plunger. This construction provides a means for draining and maintaining the entire channel means clear of pressurized product.

U.S. Patent Oct. 28, 1975 Sheet 2 of5 3,915,390

US. Patent Oct.28, 1975 Sheet3 0f5 3,915,390

US. Patent Oct. 28, 1975 Sheet4 of5 3,915,390

FIGJ4 US. Patent 00.28, 1975 Sheet 5 of5 AEROSOL VALVE AND SPRAYl-IEAD BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 304,695, filed Oct. 8, 1972 which application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 122,935, filed Mar. 10, 1971, now abandoned both to applicant.

The invention herein relates to aerosol valves and more particularly is concerned with a novel valve construction for a pressurized package in which the metering of the pressurized product remains constant for the life of the package and may be accurately established at the time of manufacture of the valve.

Aerosol valves are generally of two types, namely those in which there is a stem protruding from the package and a button is removably mounted on the stem, and those in which the stem and button are integral to provide a sprayhead that may be totally removed from the package. The present invention is applicable to both types of aerosol valves and a principal attribute of the invention, namely accurate metering, is available for both constructions.

A proposed method to obtain metering has been by use of metering channel means provided in the inner wall surface of the socket of the valve plunger. The channel means provide communication between pressurized material in the aerosol valve container and the sprayhead. A simplified method of metering the material being dispersed had been to specify the dimensions of the cross-sectional area of the channel means such that the desired metering was obtained.

It was, however, found that when using channel means to perform the metering function, because of the relatively small cross-sectional areas used and because of the relatively long channel lengths used that a capillary action effect occurred in the channel. The capillary effect, depending on the material being sprayed and after the completion of spraying, would retain in the channel means the material being sprayed. Depending on the viscosity of the particular material, the entire channel or substantially the entire channel would remain full of spray material. After spraying and reseating the valve, it was found that the propellant and/or solvent, the valve assembly between the spray orifice and valve seat were at atmospheric pressure, would vaporize from the material retained in the channel means. This would'leave the materials being sprayed, e.g. paint or small solids dispersed in a carrier, trapped in the channel means where they would dry and/or harden and plug up the channel means.

The present invention achieves advantages over the prior art by using a construction that avoids the capillary effect.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to an aerosol spray valve which has a sprayhead and depending stern and utilizes a reciprocable valve plunger having a valve seat. The plunger moves within a valve housing that is mounted to a cover member. The depending stem enters a socket fonned in the plunger. The stem is imperforate throughout its length. The socket of the plunger has channel means formed in its interior wall along the vertical length thereof so that there are one or more passageways formed between the outer wall surface of the stern and the inner wall surface of the socket to transport the pressurized product.

The channel means has an upper and a lower portion. The upper portion of the channel means is constructed to have a sufficiently large cross-sectional area relative to its lengthsuch that any pressurized product liquid remaining in the channel after spraying, when the valve is seated, by gravity runs down the channel. The lower portion of the channel means is constricted or reduced in cross-sectional area to provide the desired metering of the pressurized material. The cross-sectional area of the metering portion of the channel is constructed to be sufficiently large relative to its length such that any pressurized product liquid remaining in the metering portion of the channel means, after spraying, runs down the channel means and drains into the bottom of the socket of the valve plunger. This construction provides a means for maintaining the upper and lower portions of the channel means clear of pressurized prodnot.

When the sprayhead is depressed and the valve is unseated, pressurized product enters at the top of the plunger, passes through the upper and lower portions of the channel means to the bottom of the interior of the plunger and then into a hollow bore of the stem and is conveyed to the sprayhead and out to the atmosphere. The bottom end of the stem is spaced above the bottom floor of the socket or connecting grooves are provided in the floor of the socket.

The upper portion of the channel means can be made to have a cross-sectional area 1.25 to 10 times larger than the cross-sectional area of the lower metering portion of the channel means.

The height of the lower constricted portion of the channel means can be one eighth to one half of the combined height of the upper and lower portions of the channel means. The cross-section of the upper portion and lower portion of the channel means can be generally square, rectangular, triangular or partially curved in shape.

Since it is the cross-sectional area of the lower portion of the channel means that determines the metering, the height of the lower portion need only be sufficient to effect constriction of the flow of pressurized material. The height of the lower constricted area can thus easily be selected to avoid the capillary effect.

By constructing the channel means in the aforesaid manner, the capillary effect does not occur in the upper large cross-sectional area of the channel means and the capillary effect does not occur in the lower small constricted metering cross-sectional area of the channel means. Because the capillary effect is avoided in both sections of the channel means, after spraying, any spray material remaining in the channel means runs down and out of the channel means, including the constricted metering portion of the channel means and into the bottom floor of the socket of the valve plunger.

This avoids plugging of the channel means. The present invention can be used with valves having a stem type structure, valves in which the sprayhead and stem are removable from the valve plungerand with valves having a gallery structure as well as with valves not having a gallery structure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a fragmentary elevational view of the upper end of a pressurized package of the type in connection with which the invention is used;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary median sectional view taken through the package of FIG. 1 along the line 22 and in the indicated direction, the valve construction includes a removable sprayhead and a plastic valve housmg;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view in elevation of the valve plunger of the structure illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a median sectional view of the valve plunger of FIG. 3 taken through the channel means of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the socket of the valve plunger of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a top sectional view of the socket of the valve plunger of FIG. 3 taken through the lower portion of the channel means along line 6-6 of FIG. 4 in the direction indicated;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view in elevation of a valve plunger of a construction similar to that of FIG. 3 modified to have a channel means of triangular crosssection.

FIG. 8 is a median sectional view of the valve plunger of FIG. 7 taken at a right angle through the center of a plane through the channel means;

FIG. 9 is a top plan view of the socket of the valve plunger of FIG. 7.

FIG. 10 is a top sectional view of the socket of the valve plunger of FIG. 7 taken through the lower portion of the channel means along line l0l0 of FIG. 8 in the direction indicated;

FIG. 1 l is a view similar to that of FIG. 4, but in this case the construction is somewhat modified in that there is no gallery provided, instead the socket of the plunger has the same configuration from the bottom to the top edge thereof;

FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken generally along the line l2l2 of FIG. 11 and in the indicated direction;

FIG. 13 is a top plan view of the socket of the valve plunger of FIG. 11.

FIG. 14 is a top sectional view of the socket of the valve plunger of FIG. 11 taken through the lower portion of the channel means along line 14--14 of FIG. 11 in the direction indicated;

FIG. 15 is a sectional view of a valve plunger similar in construction to that of FIG. 12 showing a modified embodiment of the invention in which the upper larger portion of the channel means tapers inwardly into the lower smaller portion of the channel means;

FIG. 16 is a partial sectional view of a sprayhead and a sectional view of the stem and valve plunger illustrating a modified form of the invention in which the valve is of the stem type;

FIG. 17 is a fragmentary sectional view taken through the structure of FIG. 16 along the line 17-l7 and in the indicated direction;

FIG. 18 is a fragmentary sectional view of a modified form of the invention in which there is a footing provided in the floor of the valve plunger socket to space the stem above the floor;

FIG. 19 is a sectional view taken generally along the line l9l9 of FIG. 18 and in the direction indicated;

FIG. 20 is a sectional view taken generally along the line 20-20 of FIG. 19 and in the direction indicated, this view being rotated 90 relative to the view of FIG. 18;

FIG. 21 is a fragmentary sectional view taken through an embodiment of the invention in which a well is provided in the floor of the socket of the valve plunger; and

FIG. 22 is a sectional view taken generally along the line 22-22 of FIG. 21 and in the indicated direction.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS This present invention is described more fully with reference to the drawings. In FIGS. 1 through 6, there is illustrated a type of valve construction in which the sprayhead is fully removable, in which there is a gallery in the upper wall of the socket of the valve plunger, and in which there is a plastic valve housing.

The valve assembly is designated by the reference character 20. The valve assembly is purchased by the filler who puts it together with a canister 22 to make up the pressurixed package. The package is filled with the propellant either before or after the filler installs the sprayhead or button, depending upon his techniques. FIG. 1 shows a canister 22 which has a cylindrical body 24 that is held to a metal pressure dome 26 by a locked and sealed seam 28. The upper end of the dome 26 provides an opening or mouth 30 that has a rolled or curled formation 32. The valve assembly 20 is adapted to be mounted in the opening 30 and crimped in place as by the crimp 34.

The valve assembly 20 includes a metal cover member 36 that has an annular well 38 that surrounds an upstanding central boss 40 that is integral with the floor of the well and is formed from the same integral sheet metal member that constitutes the cover member 36. The upper edge of the cover member 36 is rolled as shown at 42 and this rolled edge engages over the rolled formation 32 surrounding the mouth 30 of the dome 26. A layer of gasketing material 44 between the rolled edges seals the cover member 36 into the opening of the canister 22.

The valve assembly 20 includes a valve housing 46 which is often called an eyelet in the trade. The housing in the structure described is made out of suitable plastic material and has its upper end flared or enlarged to provide the flange 48 that engages into the boss 40 and is locked in place by means of the crimps 50. A disclike elastomeric gasket 52 is compressed by the flange 48 against the inside of the upper wall 54 of the boss 40 so that the gasket 52 is sandwiched between the flange 48 and the upper wall 54. The upper wall 54 of the boss 40 has a central opening 56 and the gasket 52 likewise has a central passageway 58 that is aligned with the opening 56.

On its interior, the valve housing 46 provides a chamber 60 into which pressurized product is adapted to be introduced by way of the dip tube 62 that is locked to the bottom end of the housing 46 by any suitable means such as the split locking collar 64. In the chamber 60 there is a valve plunger 66 which provides a shoulder 68 and pilot projections 70 to seat a helical spring 72 that urges that plunger 66 upwardly as viewed, against the bottom surface of the gasket 52. The interior of the plunger 66 provides a socket 74 which has a blind bottom end which forms a floor 76, as best seen in FIGS. 3 to 6.

The upper end of the socket 74 has a gallery 78 that extends around the interior thereof, giving rise to a narrow section 80 that has an end surface 82. This end surface 82 is that which engages tightly against the bottom surface of the elastomeric gasket 52 as best seen in FIG. 2 and comprises the valve seat. The interior of the socket 74 has upper channel means 84 (86) and lower channel means 85 (87) formed therein. The channel means 84 (86) open at their upper ends into the gallery 78 and the channels means 85 (87) extend slightly below the floor 76 at their bottom ends and open into groove means 88. The groove means 88 extends across the bottom floor 76 of valve plunger 66. The channels 84 (86) and 85 (87) extend generally axially of the valve plunger 66, considering that its axis is vertical in FIG. 4.

The operation of the aerosol valve of the invention is described in connection with FIGS. 2 and 3. The sprayhead 94 is mounted in association with the valve assembly 20. The sprayhead comprises a button 96 with an integral, hollow bore stem 98 depending from the bottom of the button. The stem 98 has a central expansion chamber 100 which leads to a transverse passageway 102 in the button 96 connecting the external spray orifice 104 with the said chamber 100. The bottom end of the stem 98 has a slight camber at 106 (see also FIG. 18) to assist in guiding the stem through the gasket 52 and into thesocket 74 when the sprayhead 94 is assembled to the valve assembly 20. The diameter of the stem 98 is such as to provide a relatively tight fit with the socket 74. In this manner, since the stem 98 is imperforate except at its axial bottom end, no pressurized product can escape from the valve chamber 60 except by way of the channel means 84 (86) and 85 (87) and the groove means 88. In FIG. 2 the valve is closed, with the valve seat 82 tightly pressed against the underside of the gasket 52. Under these circumstances no pressurized product can escape from the valve chamber 60. The entire sprayhead 94 may be removed from the valve assembly if desired without affecting the inoperative condition.

With the sprayhead 94 in place, when it is desired to dispense pressurized product, the button 96 is pressed downward and the lower end of the stem 98 engaging against the floor 76 of the socket 74 of the valve plunger 66 forces the plunger downward against the bias of the spring 72 to the position which unseats the valve seat 82 from the bottom of gasket 52. When this occurs, pressurized product rises in the chamber 60 to the top of the plunger 66, passes over the valve seat 82 and into the gallery 78. From the gallery 78, the pressurized product passes down the channels 84 (86) and 85 (87), to the groove 88, in the floor 76 of valve plunger 66. The pressurized product now passes the end of the stem 98 and moves to the interior bore 92 of the stem, passing upward into the expansion chamber 100 and out to the atmosphere by way of the passage 102 and orifice 104.

To discontinue the spraying of the aerosol product, the button 96 is released by the user and the sprayhead 94 moves upwardly because of the spring 72, thereby closing the valve due to the valve seat 82 once more engaging against the underside of the gasket 52.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, the length of the upper portion 84 (86) of the channel means can be .050 to .090, preferably .065 to .075 inch. The sides forming the channel, e.g. the width of the channel can be .010 to .050, preferably .020 to .040 inch, and the depth of the channel can be .005 to .020, preferably .007 to .012 inch. The relationship of the crosssectional area of the upper portion 84 (86) of the channel means to the height of the upper portion of the channel means is such that there is no capillary action effect.

In accordance with the present invention the metering takes place in the lower portion (87) of the channel means. The length of the lower portion 85 (87) of the channel means measured from the constricted portion of the channel means adjacent the floor of the socket to the lower part of the upper enlarged portion of the channel means can be .010 to .050, preferably .025 to .035 inch. The sides forming the channel, e.g. the width of the channel can be .005 to .040, preferably .010 to .025 inch and the depth of the channel can be .005 to .020, preferably .007 to .012 inch.

The cross-sectional area of the upper portion of the channel means is 1.25 to 10.0 times larger than the cross-sectional area of the lower portion of the channel means and is preferably 1.5 to 5 times larger.

The relationship of the cross-sectional area of the lower portion 85 (87) of the channel means to the height of the lower portion of the channel means is such that there is not capillary action effect. Since the height of the constricted lower portion of the channel means is only required to be high enough to restrict the flow, i.e. meter the flow of the pressurized material to the desired rate, the height can be very small. Thus, there is no difficulty in constructing the lower portion of the channel means to avoid the capillary action effect.

In another embodiment of the invention, instead of the channel means being generally rectangular or square in cross-section shape the channel means is constructed to have a generally triangular shape. This embodiment of the invention is illustrated with only one channel means in FIGS. 7 to 10 of the drawings.

The length of the upper portion 84 of the channel means can be .050 to .090, preferably .065 to .075 inch. The sides of the triangle are about equal in length. The included angle between the sides of the triangle forming the upper channel means can be 10 to 150, preferably 60 to 150 and more preferably to The relationship of the cross-sectional area of the upper portion 84' of the channel means to the height of the upper portion of the channel means is such that there is no capillary action effect.

In accordance with this embodiment of the invention, the metering takes place in the lower portion 85' of the channel means. The length of the channel means measured from constricted portion of the channel means adjacent the floor of the socket to the lower part of the upper enlarged portion can be .010 to .050, preferably .025 to .035 inch. The sides of the triangle are about equal in length. The included angle between the sides of the triangle forming the lower channel means can be 10 to preferably 60 to 150 and preferably 90 to 135.

The included angle in the upper channel means can be the same or different from the angle in the lower channel means. Depending on the included angles selected, the depth of the upper channel means will be the same as, or will be greater than the depth of the lower channel means.

The cross-sectional area of the upper portion of the channel means is 1.25 to 10 times larger than the crosssectional area of the lower portion of the channel means and is preferably 1.5 to 5 times larger.

The relationship of the cross-sectional area of the lower portion 85' of the channel means to the height of the lower portion of the channel means is such that there is no capillary action effect. Since the height of the constricted lower portion of the channel means is only required to be high enough to restrict the flow, i.e. meter the flow of the pressurized material to the desired rate, the height can be very small. Thus, there is no difficulty in constructing the lower portion of the channel means to avoid the capillary action effect.

In a specific preferred embodiment of the invention, the included angles are each formed by two tangents taken from points on the circle forming the inner wall surface of the valve plunger socket. In this specific embodiment the depth of the triangle in the upper portion of the channel is greater than the depth of the triangle in the lower constricted portion of the channel means. Also, the included angle in the upper portion of the channel means is smaller than the included angle in the lower channel means.

In order to facilitate the drainage of spray material from the upper portion of the channel means into the lower constricted portion of the channel means, the lower part of the upper portion of the channel means can be tapered or slanted towards and into the constricted lower portion of the channel means.

Where the tapered construction is used, the tapered section forms only a small part of the length of the channel means and is included in the length of the upper portion of the channel means.

The stem 98 of the sprayhead 94 is imperforate, see for example FIG. 2, except where its hollow bore 92 opens to the bottom of the stern. There are no holes or slots to be molded into the stem, making its manufacture economical on account of relatively simple molds. Thus, only one design of sprayhead is needed for all meterings of valve structures. Since there are no holes or slots, and no tolerances to be maintained to preserve metering, the sprayhead may be molded from the economical soft plastics instead of the expensive rigid plastics.

While there are advantages in having a gallery as 78 in connection with the apparatus, see FIGS. 1 to 10, it is not essential to the operation of the invention, and the principal advantages can be achieved without the use of a gallery. For example, in the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 11 to 14 the gallery is omitted. In this case, the valve plunger 110 is constructed in the same manner as the valve plunger 66 of FIGS. 1 to 6, except that the channels 112 and l 14 which are the equivalent of the channels 84 and 86, respectively of the valve assembly 20, end at the valve seat 116. The valve seat 116 is substantially wider than the valve seat 82, since it is formed by the upper end of the wall 117 which forms the socket 118 of the plunger 110. The groove means 119 performs the same function as groove means 88.

The construction and operation of the valve plunger and the upper and lower portions of the channel means illustrated in FIGS. 11 to 14 except for the gallery structure are otherwise similar to that discussed above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6.

The FIG. 15 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention in which the upper portion of the channel means is tapered towards and into the lower portion of the channel means. The FIG. 15 is a sectional view of a valve plunger similar to that of FIG. 12. The upper portion of the channel means 114, however, has been modified such that it tapers inwardly into the lower smaller portion of the channel means 115. The angle of the tapered portion is such that it is sufficient to have the spray material drain from the upper portion of the channel means into the lower portion of the channel means. This angle can be, i.e. the included angle. 30 to 120; preferably 60 to It is. as mentioned above, also an embodiment of the present invention to have the triangular cross-sectional shaped channel means of the structure illustrated in FIGS. 7 to 10 tapered inwardly in a like manner.

In accordance with the present invention the metering is established by the dimensions of the lower portions of the channel means 85 and 87 in the case of the valve assembly of FIG. 3, 85 in the case of the valve assembly of FIG. 7, the channel means 113 and 115 of the valve assembly of FIG. 11 and channel 115 of FIG. 15. The passageway defined by the lower channel means and the exterior wall surface of the stem 98 controls metering. The total spray rate is determined by the total sum of the cross sectional areas of the lower metering portions of the channel means in each case. One and two channels are shown in the structures described, but obviously for greater flow rates, more than two channels can be used. In such a case there will have to be additional grooves cut in the floor of the socket as well. Since the interior of the valve plunger is not subjected to constricting pressures, the channels are not likely to close down. Further, since the metering channels and grooves are fully backed up and are in a member having greater diameter than the stem, swelling or other stress is less likely to affect the dimensions of the channels and grooves. Accordingly, the metering is more accurate and will remain accurate over the lifetime of use of the pressurized package. The principal advantages are that the metering channels are self draining and self cleaning and do not plug or clog over prolonged periods of use.

FIGS. 16 and 17 illustrate another embodiment of the invention which differs from the structures thus far described. In this embodiment the sprayhead is formed of two parts, namely, the stem and the button. The valve assembly, except for the plunger is not shown. The operation of the valve is similar to that discussed above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6. The sprayhead 146 in this instance is made up of a button 148 and a separate stem 150. The stem 150 is forced into a permanent engagement with the socket 152 of the valve plunger 136, there being a slight ridge 154 on the interior of the socket designed to engage the outer surface of the stem to hold the same in place. Such ridges are readily molded in synthetic resins and are soft enough during the molding process to enable removability from the mold. These ridges will regain their shape immediately after the pieces are removed from the mold. The pressure of the ridge causes cold flow of the stem wall where engaged and the resulting joint is quite tight. The valve plunger 136 has a gallery 156 and valve seat 158. Axially extending channels 160 (162) and 161 (163) are provided in the interior wall of the socket 152 connecting with a groove 164 formed in the floor 166. The stem is best molded from the rigid plastic material discussed above, but the button 148 is easily molded from economical plastics of the polyethylene type.

In FIGS. l8, l9 and 20 there is illustrated a form of the invention in which there is no groove in the floor. Instead of the groove in the floor, there is ridge or footing means to space the bottom end of the stem 174 above the floor to permit the pressurized product to I enter the bottom of the bore 196 of the stem. There is thus no need to extend the axial channels below the level of the floor. As shown, the valve plunger 170 has the socket 172 formed therein into which the lower end of a removable stern 174 is slidably fitted. There is a gallery 176 which is formed just below the valve seat 178 at the upper end of the wall 180. The channel means 182 (184) and 183 (185) are formed in the inside wall of the socket 172. The upper portions of channel means 182 (184) open at their upper ends into the gallery 176, and the lower portions of channel means 183 (185) terminate at the floor 186. In this construction, the stem 174 and button can be integral. Small protrusions from the floor or side wall in place of the ridge would perform the same function.

In FIGS. 21 and 22 there is illustrated a form of the invention in which the valve plunger 200 has a stem 202 engaged in the socket 204. This could be either a permanent connection as, for example, in the case of a stem valve or the stem 202 could be integrally connected with a spray button. The channels 206 (208) and 207 (209) are provided in the socket in the wall 210 with the upper portions 206 (208) opening into a gallery 212 and the lower portions 207 (209) extending below the floor 218 and opening to the grooves 214 and 216. These grooves are shown slanting downward toward the center of the floor and terminating in a relatively large well 220. The purpose of this well is to accumulate drainage of residue between uses of the aerosol package. In this way, heavy materials which might be suspended in the propellant and which adhere to the walls of the stem 202 and in the channels 206 (208) and 207 (209) will drain down into the well 220, thus further decreasing the possibility of clogging the channels or grooves. A similar effect can be achieved in some of the other forms of the invention by deepening the grooves formed in the bottom of the floor.

The invention is also applicable to the so-called tilt type of valves. In these valves the opening in the cover member such as for example opening 56 of the assembly of FIGS. 1 to 6 is slightly larger in diameter than for a sprayhead that only slides vertically. Thus, tilting can be accomplished.

The embodiments of the invention may have many modifications without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An aerosol valve assembly comprising:

a sprayhead, a cover member, a housing connected to the bottom of the cover member, an elastomeric gasket between the housing and the cover member, and a valve plunger in the housing spring-biased against the elastomeric gasket, the cover member having a central opening and the elastomeric gasket having a central passageway; said valve plunger comprising a body having a cylindrical wall defining a central upwardly opening socket with a blind bottom floor, the cylindrical wall having a valve seat at its upper end around the entrance of the socket; the sprayhead comprising an exterior push button having an external orifice and a depending hollow stem, the stern passing through the central opening in the cover member and through the passageway of the elastomeric gasket in a sealing and sliding engagement and having the exterior of the wall thereof sealingly engaged in said socket and extending substantially to the bottom floor thereof,

the lower part of said stem being imperforate and having an axial end opening; the socket having an interior wall, the interior wall of the socket having channel means extending generally axially of the wall, said channel means having an upper and lower portion, the upper portion opening adjacent the valve seat and the lower portion opening adjacent the floor, the upper portion of said channel means having a cross-sectional area larger than the cross-sectional area of the lower portion of said channel means, the lower portion of said channel means providing metering means; and communicating means in the lower end of the socket providing a communication between the bottom part of the lower portion of said channel means and the axial end opening of the stem.

2. A valve structure as claimed in claim 1 in which said communicating means comprise groove means in the floor of said socket, said groove means extending from the bottom part of the lower portion of said channel means to the axial end opening of said stem.

3. A valve structure as claimed in claim 1 in which said communicating means comprise footing means spacing the lower end of the stern wall above the floor of said socket.

4. The valve structure of claim 1 in which there is a gallery at the upper end of the socket on the interior thereof and the upper end of the upper portion of the channel means open into the gallery, the gallery being disposed below the valve seat.

5. A valve structure as claimed in claim 1 in which means are provided to accumulate residue in the floor of the socket without interfering with passage of pressurized product by way of said channel means and said communicating means.

6. A valve structure as claimed in claim 1 in which the stem and push button are separable and the stem is substantially permanently engaged in said socket.

7. A valve structure as claimed in claim 1 in which the stem and push button are integral and the stem is removably engaged in the socket.

8. A valve structure as claimed in claim 1 in which the lower part of the upper larger cross-sectional area channel means is tapered and slanted into the lower smaller cross-sectional area channel means.

9. A valve structure according to claim 1 in which the channel means are square or rectangular in cross section.

10. A valve structure according to claim 1 in which the channel means are generally triangular in cross section.

11. A valve structure according to claim 10 in which the triangles are formed by tangents from the circle formed by the inner wall surface of the valve plunger socket.

12. An aerosol valve assembly having sprayhead with a depending hollow stem, the stem extending into the valve assembly from the exterior thereof, said valve assembly including a cover member, a gasket, a valve housing secured to the inside of the cover member, a valve plunger in the housing having a valve seat on the upper end thereof and being spring-biased upwardly against the gasket, the valve plunger having an upwardly opening scoket confined by the valve seat, the cover member having a central opening, the gasket being disposed between the valve housing and the cover member and having a central passageway therethrough. the stem slidingly and sealingly passing through the central opening in the cover member and the central passageway in the gasket into the socket and bottomed therein and having its exterior wall sealingly engaged in said socket, the lower end of the stem being imperforate but for an axial end opening, the plunger having axially extending channel means on the interior of the socket, said channel means having an upper portion opening adjacent the valve seat and having a lower portion opening adjacent the floor of said socket, the upper portion of said channel means having a cross-sectional area larger than the cross-sectional area of the lower portion of said channel means, the lower portion of said channel means providing metering means, and communicating means in the bottom of the socket comprising grooves for communicating between the lower end of the lower portion of said channel means and the axial end opening in the stem.

13. The invention as claimed in claim 12 in which there is a gallery at the upper end of the socket on the interior thereof and the upper end of the channel means open into said gallery.

14. The invention as claimed in claim 12 in which the push button and stem are separable and the stem is substantially permanently engaged in said socket.

15. The invention as claimed in claim 12 in which the push button and stem are integral and the stem is removably engaged in said socket.

16. The valve structure as claimed in claim 12 in which means are provided to accumulate residue in the floor of the socket without interfering with passage of pressurized product by way of said channel means and said communicating groove means.

17. An aerosol valve assembly comprising a sprayhead, a cover member, a housing connected to the bottom of the cover member, an elastomeric gasket between the housing and the cover member and having a central passageway therethrough, a valve plunger in the housing spring-biased against the elastomeric gasket, said valve plunger comprising a body having a cylindrical wall defining a central upwardly opening socket with a'blind bottom floor, the cylindrical wall having a valve seat at its upper end around the entrance of the socket; the sprayhead consisting of an exterior push button having an external orifice and a depending hollow stem, the stem passing through the passageway of the elastomeric gasket in a sealing and sliding engagement and having its lower portion telescopically and sealingly engaged in said socket, said lower portion having an axial end opening, the socket having an interior wall, the interior wall of the socket having channel means extending generally axially of the cylindrical wall, said channel means having an upper portion opening at the upper end thereof adjacent the valve seat and a lower portion opening at the bottom end adjacent said floor, the upper portion of said channel means having a cross-sectional area larger than the crosssectional area of the lower portion of said channel means, the lower portion of said channel means providing metering means, the lower part of the upper larger portion tapering and slanting into the lower smaller portion; and communicating means in the lower end of the socket communicating with the lower portion of said channel means and providing the only entrance to the interior of the hollow stem from the bottom end thereof.

18. A \alve structure as claimed in claim 17 in which there is a gallery at the upper end ofthe socket and the upper end of the upper portion of the channel means open into the gallery, the gallery being disposed below the valve seat.

19. A valve structure as claimed in claim 17 in which means the cross-section of the upper larger channel means and the cross-section of the lower smaller channel means are generally triangular in shape.

20. The structure as claimed in claim 17 in which the communicating means consists of footing or rib means in the floor of the socket.

21. The aerosol valve assembly of claim 1 wherein the upper portion of the channel means is constructed to have a sufficiently large cross-sectional area relative to its length such that pressurized product liquid remaining in the channel means after spraying when the valve is seated, by gravity runs down the channel means and the cross-sectional area of the lower metering portion of said channel means is constructed to be sufficiently large relative to its length such that pressurized product liquid remaining in the metering portion of the channel means after spraying, by gravity runs down the channel means and drains into the bottom of the valve plunger.

22. The valve structure of claim 1 in which the crosssectional area of the upper portion of the channel means is 1.25 to 10 times larger than the crosssectional area of the lower metering portion of the channel means and the height of the lower metering portion of the channel means is A; to /2 of the combined length of the upper and lower portions of said channel means.

23. The valve structure of claim 22 wherein the channel means are square or rectangular in cross section and the upper portion of the channel means has a side 0.010 to 0.050 inch and a depth of 0.005 to 0.020 inch and the lower portion has a side 0.005 to 0.040 inch and a depth of 0.005 to 0.020 inch.

24. The valve structure of claim 22 wherein the channel means are generally triangular in cross section and the upper channel portion has an included angle of 10 to and the lower portion of said channel means has an included angle of 10 to 150.

25. The valve structure according to claim 1 in which the channel means are square or rectangular in cross section and the upper portion of the channel means has a length of 0.050 to 0.090 inch, has a side of 0.010 to 0.050 inch and a depth of 0.005 to 0.020 inch and the lower portion of said channel means has a length of 0.010 to 0.050 inch and has a side 0.005 to 0.0040 inch and a depth of 0.005 to 0.020 inch.

26. A valve structure according to claim 1 in which the channel means are generally triangular in cross section and the upper portion of the channel means has a length of 0.050 to 0.090 inch and an included angle of 10 to 150 and the lower portion of said channel means has a length of 0.010 to 0.050 inch and an included angle of 10 to 150.

27. The valve structure as claimed in claim 12 wherein the upper portion of the channel means in constructed to have a sufiiciently large cross-sectional area relative to its length such that pressurized product remaining in the channel means after spraying when the valve is seated, by gravity runs down the channel means and the cross-sectional area of the lower metering portion of said channel means is constructed to be sufficiently large relative to itslength such that pressurized product liquid remaining in the metering portion of the channel means after spraying by gravity runs down the channel means and drains into the bottom of the socket of the valve plunger.

28. The valve structure of claim 27 wherein the cross-sectional area of the upper portion of said channel means is 1.25 to times larger than the crosssectional area of the lower metering portion of said channel means and the height of the lower metering portion is /8 to /2 of the combined height of the upper and lower portions of said channel means.

29. The valve structure as claimed in claim 17 wherein the upper portion of the channel means is constructed to have a sufficiently large cross-sectional area relative to its length such that pressurized product remaining in the channel means after spraying when the valve is seated. by gravity runs down the channel means and the cross-sectional area of the lower metering portion of said channel means is constructed to be sufficiently large relative to its length such that pressurized product liquid remaining in the metering portion of the channel means after spraying, by gravity runs down the channel means and drains into the bottom of the socket of the valve plunger.

30. The valve structure of claim 29 wherein the cross-sectional area of the upper portion of said channel means is 1.25 to 10 times larger than the crosssectional area of the lower metering portion of said channel means and the height of the lower metering portion is Vs to /z of the combined height of the upper and lower portions of said channel means.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Q Patent No. 3,915,390 Dated October 28, 1975 Inventor(s) Edward reen It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

In the abstract, column 2 line 15, "on" should read to T Column 1 line 44, after "solvent," insert since Q Claim 25, line 7, "0.0040" should read 0.040

Claim 27, line 2, "in" should read is a Signed and Scaled this twenty-fourth Day of February 1976 [SEAL] Arrest:

RUTH C. MASON C. MARSHALL DANN Arresting Officer Commissioner oj'Putents and Tradenmrks 

1. An aerosol valve assembly comprising: a sprayhead, a cover member, a housing connected to the bottom of the cover member, an elastomeric gasket between the housing and the cover member, and a valve plunger in the housing spring-biased against the elastomeric gasket, the cover member having a central opening and the elastomeric gasket having a central passageway; said valve plunger comprising a body having a cylindrical wall defining a central upwardly opening socket with a blind bottom floor, the cylindrical wall having a valve seat at its upper end around the entrance of the socket; the sprayhead comprising an exterior push button having an external orifice and a depending hollow stem, the stem passing through the central opening in the cover member and through the passageway of the elastomeric gasket in a sealing and sliding engagement and having the exterior of the wall thereof sealingly engaged in said socket and extending substantially to the bottom floor thereof, the lower part of said stem being imperforate and having an axial end opening; the socket having an interior wall, the interior wall of the socket having channel means extending generally axially of the wall, said channel means having an upper and lower portion, the upper portion opening adjacent the valve seat and the lower portion opening adjacent the floor, the upper portion of said channel means having a cross-sectional area larger than the crosssectional area of the lower portion of said channel means, the lower portion of said channel means providing metering means; and communicating means in the lower end of the socket providing a communication between the bottom part of the lower portion of said channel means and the axial end opening of the stem.
 2. A valve structure as claimed in claim 1 in which said communicating means comprise groove means in the floor of said socket, said groove means extending from the bottom part of the lower portion of said channel means to the axial end opening of said stem.
 3. A valve structure as claimed in claim 1 in which said communicating means comprise footing means spacing the lower end of the stem wall above the floor of said socket.
 4. The valve structure of claim 1 in which there is a gallery at the upper end of the socket on the interior thereof and the upper end of the upper portion of the channel means open into the gallery, the gallery being disposed below the valve seat.
 5. A valve structure as claimed in claim 1 in which means are provided to accumulate residue in the floor of the socket without interfering with passage of pressurized product by way of said channel means and said communicating means.
 6. A valve structure as claimed in claim 1 in which the stem and push button are separable and the stem is substantially permanently engaged in said socket.
 7. A valve structure as claimed in claim 1 in which the stem and push button are integral and the stem is removably engaged in the socket.
 8. A valve structure as claimed in claim 1 in which the lower part of the upper larger cross-sectional area channel means is tapered and slanted into the lower smaller cross-sectional area channel means.
 9. A valve structure according to claim 1 in which the channel means are square or rectangular in cross section.
 10. A valve structure according to claim 1 in which the channel means are generally triangular in cross section.
 11. A valve structure according to claim 10 in which the triangles are formed by tangents from the circle formed by the inner wall surface of the valve plunger socket.
 12. An aerosol valve assembly having sprayhead with a depending hollow stem, the stem extending into the valve assembly from the exterior thereof, said valve assembly including a cover member, a gasket, a valve housIng secured to the inside of the cover member, a valve plunger in the housing having a valve seat on the upper end thereof and being spring-biased upwardly against the gasket, the valve plunger having an upwardly opening socket confined by the valve seat, the cover member having a central opening, the gasket being disposed between the valve housing and the cover member and having a central passageway therethrough, the stem slidingly and sealingly passing through the central opening in the cover member and the central passageway in the gasket into the socket and bottomed therein and having its exterior wall sealingly engaged in said socket, the lower end of the stem being imperforate but for an axial end opening, the plunger having axially extending channel means on the interior of the socket, said channel means having an upper portion opening adjacent the valve seat and having a lower portion opening adjacent the floor of said socket, the upper portion of said channel means having a cross-sectional area larger than the cross-sectional area of the lower portion of said channel means, the lower portion of said channel means providing metering means, and communicating means in the bottom of the socket comprising grooves for communicating between the lower end of the lower portion of said channel means and the axial end opening in the stem.
 13. The invention as claimed in claim 12 in which there is a gallery at the upper end of the socket on the interior thereof and the upper end of the channel means open into said gallery.
 14. The invention as claimed in claim 12 in which the push button and stem are separable and the stem is substantially permanently engaged in said socket.
 15. The invention as claimed in claim 12 in which the push button and stem are integral and the stem is removably engaged in said socket.
 16. The valve structure as claimed in claim 12 in which means are provided to accumulate residue in the floor of the socket without interfering with passage of pressurized product by way of said channel means and said communicating groove means.
 17. An aerosol valve assembly comprising a sprayhead, a cover member, a housing connected to the bottom of the cover member, an elastomeric gasket between the housing and the cover member and having a central passageway therethrough, a valve plunger in the housing spring-biased against the elastomeric gasket, said valve plunger comprising a body having a cylindrical wall defining a central upwardly opening socket with a blind bottom floor, the cylindrical wall having a valve seat at its upper end around the entrance of the socket; the sprayhead consisting of an exterior push button having an external orifice and a depending hollow stem, the stem passing through the passageway of the elastomeric gasket in a sealing and sliding engagement and having its lower portion telescopically and sealingly engaged in said socket, said lower portion having an axial end opening, the socket having an interior wall, the interior wall of the socket having channel means extending generally axially of the cylindrical wall, said channel means having an upper portion opening at the upper end thereof adjacent the valve seat and a lower portion opening at the bottom end adjacent said floor, the upper portion of said channel means having a cross-sectional area larger than the cross-sectional area of the lower portion of said channel means, the lower portion of said channel means providing metering means, the lower part of the upper larger portion tapering and slanting into the lower smaller portion; and communicating means in the lower end of the socket communicating with the lower portion of said channel means and providing the only entrance to the interior of the hollow stem from the bottom end thereof.
 18. A valve structure as claimed in claim 17 in which there is a gallery at the upper end of the socket and the upper end of the upper portion of the channel means open into the gallery, the gallery being disposed below the valve seat.
 19. A valve structure as claimed in claim 17 in which means the cross-section of the upper larger channel means and the cross-section of the lower smaller channel means are generally triangular in shape.
 20. The structure as claimed in claim 17 in which the communicating means consists of footing or rib means in the floor of the socket.
 21. The aerosol valve assembly of claim 1 wherein the upper portion of the channel means is constructed to have a sufficiently large cross-sectional area relative to its length such that pressurized product liquid remaining in the channel means after spraying when the valve is seated, by gravity runs down the channel means and the cross-sectional area of the lower metering portion of said channel means is constructed to be sufficiently large relative to its length such that pressurized product liquid remaining in the metering portion of the channel means after spraying, by gravity runs down the channel means and drains into the bottom of the valve plunger.
 22. The valve structure of claim 1 in which the cross-sectional area of the upper portion of the channel means is 1.25 to 10 times larger than the cross-sectional area of the lower metering portion of the channel means and the height of the lower metering portion of the channel means is 1/8 to 1/2 of the combined length of the upper and lower portions of said channel means.
 23. The valve structure of claim 22 wherein the channel means are square or rectangular in cross section and the upper portion of the channel means has a side 0.010 to 0.050 inch and a depth of 0.005 to 0.020 inch and the lower portion has a side 0.005 to 0.040 inch and a depth of 0.005 to 0.020 inch.
 24. The valve structure of claim 22 wherein the channel means are generally triangular in cross section and the upper channel portion has an included angle of 10* to 150* and the lower portion of said channel means has an included angle of 10* to 150*.
 25. The valve structure according to claim 1 in which the channel means are square or rectangular in cross section and the upper portion of the channel means has a length of 0.050 to 0.090 inch, has a side of 0.010 to 0.050 inch and a depth of 0.005 to 0.020 inch and the lower portion of said channel means has a length of 0.010 to 0.050 inch and has a side 0.005 to 0.0040 inch and a depth of 0.005 to 0.020 inch.
 26. A valve structure according to claim 1 in which the channel means are generally triangular in cross section and the upper portion of the channel means has a length of 0.050 to 0.090 inch and an included angle of 10* to 150* and the lower portion of said channel means has a length of 0.010 to 0.050 inch and an included angle of 10* to 150*.
 27. The valve structure as claimed in claim 12 wherein the upper portion of the channel means in constructed to have a sufficiently large cross-sectional area relative to its length such that pressurized product remaining in the channel means after spraying when the valve is seated, by gravity runs down the channel means and the cross-sectional area of the lower metering portion of said channel means is constructed to be sufficiently large relative to its length such that pressurized product liquid remaining in the metering portion of the channel means after spraying by gravity runs down the channel means and drains into the bottom of the socket of the valve plunger.
 28. The valve structure of claim 27 wherein the cross-sectional area of the upper portion of said channel means is 1.25 to 10 times larger than the cross-sectional area of the lower metering portion of said channel means and the height of the lower metering portion is 1/8 to 1/2 of the combined height of the upper and lower portions of said channel means.
 29. The valve structure as claimed in claim 17 wherein the upper portion of the channel means is constructed to have a sufficiently large cross-sectional area relative to its length such that pressurized product remaining in the channel means after spraying when the valve is seated, by gravity runs down the channel means and the cross-sectional area of the lower metering portion of said channel means is constructed to be sufficiently large relative to its length such that pressurized product liquid remaining in the metering portion of the channel means after spraying, by gravity runs down the channel means and drains into the bottom of the socket of the valve plunger.
 30. The valve structure of claim 29 wherein the cross-sectional area of the upper portion of said channel means is 1.25 to 10 times larger than the cross-sectional area of the lower metering portion of said channel means and the height of the lower metering portion is 1/8 to 1/2 of the combined height of the upper and lower portions of said channel means. 